Larry & Millie Kish

Larry and Millie Kish will be calling Londonderry Village home in May. A couple who turned a blind date into 45 blissful years of marriage will be turning their duplex into their new forever home. Larry, an avid woodworker will be transitioning a room in his new basement into his own custom woodshop. “My love of woodworking started when I was young, my father dabbled in wood.” This is something Larry has continued his whole life. Larry and Millie who both worked for the Hershey Company have 2 children, 4 grandchildren  and still find time to do the things they love.

” I would say I spend 20-25 hours a week in my current woodshop creating tops and bowls that I give away as gifts.” Larry says.  “He never makes the exact same item twice. He creates all of the ideas in his head” Millie says of her husband’s woodworking.

While her husband is busy in his woodshop and volunteering at ‘Friends in Action’ in Middletown, Millie is busy handling all of the accounting work, on a volunteer basis for Shining-Light Ministries. Larry started making these tops years ago and gave them to his grandchildren and friends but he soon saw a real opportunity to give back through his work at ‘Friends in Action’. They ship Larry’s’ tops to places like Uganda, Nicaragua, Vanuatu and Moldova.

“It’s so great to be able to give back to children who are less fortunate.” says Larry. “If the children attend bible study every day for two weeks straight they receive a top as a gift.” Larry who has a majority of his wood donated to him by friends and family always finds different ways to design and color the tops to make them special for the children. “Our daughter did missionary work in Moldova so that’s why we started to ship Larry’s tops there. The children love them” says Millie.

Larry has created  numerous tops, bowls, wine glasses, a scrapbooking cabinet and doll house for his daughter throughout his time in his woodshop. “You have to make what the wood gives you” when asked about his intricate design of his creations.

Larry will be bringing his wood lathe, table saw, planer, open end drum sander, drill press and other instruments from his current woodshop to be installed into his new shop in the basement of his duplex. Larry and Millie have many friends that have moved to Londonderry Village and they knew they eventually wanted to make the move.

“When Tyler walked us through the duplex we knew this was home. It felt so amazing to us. The extra room in the basement that Larry can turn into his woodshop seemed like it was meant to be” says Millie. Larry and Millie don’t want their children to have to worry about them in the future and they want to be surrounded by friends in a warm community with less responsibility. “We hope to be here a long time” Millie says.